Abstract
Background
Evidence supports the use of social marketing campaigns to improve nutrition knowledge
and reinforce the effects of nutrition education programs. However, the additional
effects of parent-focused social marketing with nutrition education have received
little attention.
Objective
Our aim was to assess the impact of the Iowa Nutrition Network’s school-based nutrition
education program (Building and Strengthening Iowa Community Support for Nutrition
and Physical Activity [BASICS]) and the benefits of adding a multichannel social marketing
intervention (BASICS Plus) to increase parent-directed communication.
Design and intervention
A quasi-experimental design with three study conditions compared a school-based nutrition
education program (BASICS) with a school-based and social marketing intervention (BASICS
Plus) and a no-treatment comparison group.
Participants/setting
The study included 1,037 third-grade students attending 33 elementary schools and
their parents.
Main outcome measures
Measures included parents’ reports of their children’s in-home consumption of fruits
and vegetables (F/V) and use of low-fat/fat-free milk. Data on F/V were collected
using a modified version of the University of California Cooperative Extension Food
Behavior Checklist; and data on milk use were collected using two questions from the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Statistical analyses
Multilevel, mixed-effect regression models that account for correlation within repeated
measures and children within school were used to compare the mean change over time
in the outcome variable for one study group with the mean change over time for another
study group.
Results
Children in BASICS increased mean consumption of fruit by 0.16 cups (P=0.04) compared with children in the comparison group. Children in BASICS Plus increased
mean consumption of fruit by 0.17 cups (P=0.03) and mean consumption of vegetables by 0.13 cups (P=0.02). Children in BASICS Plus were 1.3 times (P=0.05) more likely to use low-fat/fat-free milk than children in either the BASICS
group or the comparison group.
Conclusions
Gaining parents’ attention and engaging them in healthy eating practices for their
children can be a useful way to increase the effectiveness of school-based nutrition
education programs. This study demonstrates the benefits of incorporating a parent-focused
social marketing campaign in nutrition education interventions.
Keywords
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Biography
J. L. Blitstein is a public health psychologist, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Biography
S. C. Cates is a senior research policy analyst, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Biography
J. Hersey is retired; at the time of the study, he was a principal scientist, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Biography
K. Kosa is a research analyst, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Biography
P. A. Williams is a senior research psychologist, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Biography
D. Montgomery is a public health nutritionist, Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines.
Biography
M. Shelley is university professor of Statistics, Political Science, and School of Education, and chair, Department of Political Science, Iowa State University, Ames.
Biography
C. Hradek is a state specialist, Iowa State University Cooperative Extension, Ames; at the time of the study, she was social marketing coordinator, Iowa Department of Public Health, Des Moines.
Biography
L. Bell is director, Center on Food Assistance and Nutrition, Altarum Institute, Portland, ME.
Biography
V. Long is retired; at the time of the study, she was deputy director, Center on Food Assistance and Nutrition, Altarum Institute, Portland, ME.
Biography
S. Olson is special assistant to the deputy administrator for Child Nutrition Programs, Food and Nutrition Service, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA.
Biography
A. Singh is chief of the SNAP Evaluation Branch, Food and Nutrition Service, US Department of Agriculture, Alexandria, VA.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 06, 2016
Accepted:
December 15,
2015
Received:
June 23,
2015
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This research was supported by US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service contract AG-3198-D-09-0096. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Food and Nutrition Service or the US Department of Agriculture.
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© 2016 by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
